DIGEST

Associated Press

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, August 20, 2005

AIRLINES

Delta warns pilots about cash reserves

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines has told its pilots union that the struggling carrier's cash reserves have fallen to the point where the company could seek to revise the agreement the two sides reached last year to avoid a bankruptcy filing at that time.

As part of the agreement for $1 billion in annual pilot concessions, Atlanta-based Delta included a bankruptcy protection letter that said the nation's third-largest carrier would not seek more concessions unless its cash level fell below a certain point.

The exact threshold was not specified in a Friday memo to pilots, and the union and Delta declined to say what it is.

RETAIL

Country music superstar Garth Brooks is coming only to a Wal-Mart near you.

Brooks, the top-selling country singer, agreed to sell his music exclusively through Wal-Mart Stores, the world's biggest retailer. His recordings will be available online and at all Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, the company said Friday. Brooks adds star cachet to Wal-Mart at a time when retailers such as Target and Sears have signed celebrities, including Isaac Mizrahi and Ty Pennington.

TECHNOLOGY

Perry chooses 17 for advisory panel

Members will make recommendations to state leaders, Perry's office said Friday. Perry signed legislation in June creating the $200 million fund. The goal is to encourage innovation and job creation in emerging high-tech industries for Texas.

TEXTILES

Clothes from China clog European ports

PARIS - Barred Chinese clothing shipments are piling up at European ports, prompting warnings of retail stock shortages and higher store prices just weeks after the
European Union
moved to stem an import surge deemed a threat to jobs.

Amid concern that the import quotas are doing more economic harm than good, the EU is facing growing calls for their relaxation, even from France, one of the strongest supporters of the original textiles clampdown.

Unless the Chinese quotas are loosened, retailers are warning, consumers could end up paying more this autumn for clothes hastily sourced from elsewhere. The problems come as Washington is nearing a deal with Beijing on its own temporary import limits aimed at protecting U.S. jobs.